Newark Fire, a girls under-10 travel soccer team, captured the U-10 State Cup Tournament (Gold Division 3) championship on Saturday, Nov. 20, in Manteca by defeating the Burlingame Galaxy in thrilling fashion. After the two sides were even through regulation and overtime, the Fire topped Galaxy 3-1 in a penalty kick shootout.

Sam Ocegueda, Rachel Bruckner and Hannah Gamez all scored goals for the Fire, while goalkeeper Lissette Mason blocked three shots by the Galaxy to help capture the win. Midfielders Aracelli Hinojosa, Natalia Sanchez, Bri Motta, Kailey Alcosiba and Sara Buffey all played well in the midfield; defenders Trinity Castillo and Isabella Garcia played solid on the backline to preserve the win.

Angelique Valenzuela also put tremendous pressure on the Galaxy's defense creating several scoring opportunities, along with Bruckner, Gamez and Hinojosa who all had near-miss shots as well.

Newark made the championship game by defeating the Danville Mustang United 1-0 on a goal by Gamez with five minutes remaining in the game. Hinojosa collected the assist on the goal. Alcosiba had an outstanding game in midfield, creating several scoring opportunities as well; Buffey had a solid game in defense, while Valenzuela and Hinojosa had a number of great shots that barely missed the goal, too.

Coach Bruckner noted that every player on the Newark Fire played tremendously during the State Cup tournament, contributing to the championship victory.

"We truly played some of our best soccer this past weekend. Coaches Pat Buffey and Marco Valenzuela were also key to guiding the team in the right direction," said Bruckner. "It was a great way to end our 38-game season that started way back on July 24."